“When kids look up to great scientists, the way they do to great musicians, actors, civilization will jump to next level”, when Brian Greene told this, I couldn’t agree more to it. How often do we remember our scientists in contrast to the mass hero worship by fans, cult club followers of singers and cricketers.
The recent announcement made by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K.Stalin to award cash of Rs.25 lakh to each of the nine eminent scientists from Tamil Nadu is a step in the right direction. Honors were bestowed upon several prominent individuals, including the former ISRO chairman K. Sivan, the project director for Chandrayaan 1 and 2, Mylswamy Annadurai, and the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre-ISRO, V Narayanan. Additionally, those recognized included A Rajarajan, the Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the distinguished ISRO scientist M Sankaran, and P Veeramuthuvel, the project director for Chandrayaan-3. M Vanitha and Nigar Shaji from ISRO, along with J Asir Packiaraj, who serves as the Director of ISRO-Propulsion Complex, were also honored by the Chief Minister.
M.K Stalin has also announced the establishment of a scholarship program named after distinguished scientists, aimed at supporting nine postgraduate engineering students in cultivating their drive for scientific innovation. Additionally, a corpus fund of Rs 10crore will be established for this initiative. The government will cover all expenses, including tuition fees and hostel fees, for the recipients of this scholarship.
Eligibility for the postgraduate scholarship is open to government school students who pursued undergraduate engineering programs and availed of the 7.5 percent reservation, as well as financial assistance during their undergraduate studies from the government, particularly for state-run school students.
These steps will eventually help the young generation to emulate them and grow. Highlighting their stories, achievements, and contributions can motivate young minds to explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and pursue careers in research and innovation. It will encourage them to believe in their own potential and set ambitious goals, inculcating a spirit of inquiry can help children develop critical thinking skills and a lifelong passion for learning. Other states can also take out a leaf from Tamil Nadu also, as it is one of the ways to invest in scientific research that can have a real-world impact and improve people’s lives which can motivate children to see the value in pursuing STEM careers that will make a positive difference in society.
Recently, the achievement of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission underscores that significant successes and moments of triumph which are a result of persistent motivation, in terms of investments from the government and private sector and continued determination from individuals, even while facing the challenges and setbacks due to uncertainty and failure.
Scientific and technological advancement acts as a catalyst for sustained development over the long term. As underscored by Nobel laureate in physics, David Gross, India possesses the capacity to emerge as a formidable force in the field of science. The example of creation of domestically produced COVID-19 vaccine serves as merely one among numerous indications of this potential. Though, the Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) in the country has been consistently increasing over the years and has more than doubled from Rs. 60,196.75 crore in 2010–11 to Rs. 127,380.96 crore in 2020–21. India’s GERD as percentage of GDP has remained at 0.66% and 0.64% during the years 2019–20 and 2020–21, respectively, which is low as compared to other developed nations around the world.
Whereas, it’s neighbor China’s spending on research has skyrocketed in line with its economic growth, so to nurture it’s deep scientific abilities, India needs to transform it’s R&D, that will need various short- and medium-term measures, not only from the Central governments but also from state governments which can emulate from Tamil Nadu’s example to felicitate it’s scientist in the right way.
Isaac Asimov once told that, “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom”, so we as a society should also understand the importance of the numerous brains working behind the upcoming technologies in STEM fields and to encourage the researchers to persevere against the uncertainty inherent in the scientific enterprise, by giving the scientists their due share in all aspects and wise enough to recognize their works. Also more adequate public and private investments should be brought in this field, so that the younger generation can look up to the people who in reality make up till the stars.
Since, India aspires to attain global leadership status, for that it is important that it redirects its increasing economic might towards a crucial yet historically overlooked field that is imperative for promoting the development of the nation holistically,i.e the realm of science and technology.
